South Korea’s Yoon Starts Reshaping Team After Election Defeat

Soo-Hyang Choi
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol named a new chief of staff Monday after pledging to change his approach following a stinging loss for his conservative party in parliamentary elections earlier this month.

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Yoon picked five-term lawmaker Chung Jin-suk to succeed Lee Kwan-sup as his new chief of staff after Lee resigned to take responsibility for the election defeat.

Yoon’s People Power Party bloc saw its representation in the 300-seat National Assembly shrink to 108 spots in the April 10 elections. The opposition Democratic Party bloc expanded its tally to 175 seats. Chung, a journalist-turned-politician and a member of the PPP, lost his seat to a DP candidate in the vote.

Announcing the appointment, Yoon said he expects the new chief of staff to play a key role in communicating with opposition parties, the media and the public. More personnel changes and a meeting with opposition leader Lee Jae-myung are likely in the coming days as Yoon looks to reverse the impression of a top-down administration that doesn’t listen to the people.

“The past two years have been focused on setting policy directions and executing them for key state affairs,” Yoon told reporters in a briefing televised live. “I would like to focus now on stepping closer to our people, convincing them and communicating with them over our direction.”

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and many other senior secretaries have also offered to resign to pave the way for change.

The appointment comes as Yoon prepares to meet with Lee for the first time since taking office in 2022, another attempt to reverse his image as a leader who doesn’t communicate.

Asked on the agenda for the meeting, Yoon said he will look to narrow differences on ways to improve people’s livelihoods. Lee has proposed spending 13 trillion won ($9.4 billion) on cash handouts for households as a way to boost flagging consumer demand in the economy.

Read more: Indicted Opposition Leader Is South Korea’s Political Winner

According to a weekly tracking poll released by Gallup Korea on Friday, Yoon’s approval rate fell to match its lowest level of 23%, down 11 percentage points from the last survey conducted before the elections.

Respondents with an unfavorable view of Yoon faulted him for his management of the economy as it battles inflation, and his communication skills, the poll showed.

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